At first the president appeared calm The Japanese had attacked American soil This would make it easier for him to convince Congress to declare war But throughout the chaotic afternoon reports of American losses kept rolling in By the end of the day the president’s face was gray and haggard Caught totally by surprise the US Navy had been barely able to mount a defense More than two thousand Americans were dead and more than one thousand wounded Twenty ships had been sunk or damaged and more than one hundred planes had been destroyed Message to the Nation The next day President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was driven to the Capitol building He rose from his wheelchair which he’d used since contracting crippling polio at the age of thirty-nine his President Roosevelt addresses Congress on December 8 1941 Following the attack on Pearl Harbor the United States declared war with Japan 8
knees locked in place by heavy steel braces Holding the arm of his adult son James the president walked slowly up to the speaking platform There he gripped the sides of the lectern to hold himself upright Once he was in place only his powerful upper body was visible to the members of Congress and the visitors who packed the chamber His strong baritone voice filled the room and was broadcast out to radio listeners across the nation Yesterday December 7 1941 a date which will live in infamy the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan He went on No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory The fate of democracy hung in the balance yet Franklin Delano Roosevelt faced this crisis as he had faced others in his already long and eventful presidency His irrepressible optimism and willingness to experiment with innovative government programs was pulling the country out of the Great Depression 1929 1942 He would lead the country toward victory in World War II 1939 1945 and set the course for a future of prosperity 9
CHAPTER ONE THE MAKING OF A PRESIDENT Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30 1882 on his family’s estate overlooking the Hudson River in Hyde Park New York His mother Sara Delano Roosevelt was descended from wealthy New England sea merchants His father James Roosevelt was vice president of several corporations and lived the life of a country gentleman managing his estate riding its farms and fields on horseback and socializing with other members of the upper class Franklin was his mother’s only child His father who was in his fifties when Franklin was born had been married before and widowed Franklin had a married half-brother who was the same age as Franklin’s mother Franklin grew up in luxury surrounded by adults who doted on him At Hyde Park he accompanied his father riding a pony across hundreds of acres of fields and forests on the estate At his family’s vacation home on Campobello Island just north of the Canadian border he spent his time swimming and sailing the family yacht Ships and the sea were among Franklin’s lifelong passions Franklin’s parents traveled widely and from the time he was three he went with them He spent much of his childhood in Britain and elsewhere in Europe 10
Franklin left rides on horseback with his father James around their home in Hyde Park New York in 1891 Franklin’s mother Sara stands nearby School Years Tutored at home Franklin didn’t go to school until he was fourteen when he was sent away to Groton an exclusive prep school northwest of Boston Massachusetts He was initially homesick but eventually settled into his new routine After graduating Franklin moved to Boston and enrolled at Harvard University Soon after he had to rush home to see his ill father who died on December 8 1900 Franklin spent the holidays mourning with his mother When Franklin returned to school in January Sara rented an apartment in Boston so she could be closer to him Franklin was an active student joining a number of clubs at Harvard He sought membership into the most exclusive of all Harvard social clubs the Porcellian but was turned down It was a major disappointment 11
